January 29, 2017

Republican lawmakers in the Minnesota House are considering
killing a solar incentive and taking control of an energy fund they say has
little oversight.

The bill would shift money deposited into a renewable energy
account to a general energy fund and end the “Made in Minnesota” solar energy

GOP lawmakers want more legislative oversight of the state’s
energy funds and pointed toward the low energy production from the solar
incentive at a Monday House ways and means committee hearing as a sign of the
energy program’s failure. The bill continues an early trend in the session of
Republican lawmakers seeking to rein in spending with tighter legislative
control. Still, House Democrats said they see the bill as a shift away from a
commitment to alternative energy sources that would result in the loss of
almost 500 jobs in the state.

Rep. Marion O’Neill of Maple Lake, the author of the bill,
said the renewable energy fund has little oversight and questioned why the
account is controlled by a private company, Xcel Energy, instead of a state
body. Often, the Legislature’s job is to fix issues that arise from past
decisions, she said, calling this bill “a course correction.”

Rep. Pat Garofalo called the solar incentive program “an
embarrassment to the state” and said the Legislature should have control of the
renewable energy fund. He referenced a review done by the Office of Legislative
Auditor suggesting that more oversight of the fund was needed to increase
accountability.

But DFL lawmakers opposed the changes to law, citing
lowering solar production costs, the loss of jobs in the “Made in Minnesota”
program and the abandonment of previous commitments to the development of
renewable energy as reasons why they wouldn’t support the bill.

Rep. Jean Wagenius, a Minneapolis Democrat, said changing
the renewable energy fund to a general energy fund breaks a “20-year-old
agreement” between the state and Xcel Energy to provide alternative energy
sources. “By taking away the renewable name, it is a fund without a moral
obligation,” she said.

Groups previously chosen for the “Made in Minnesota”
incentive would still get rebates for the rest of their 10-year contract under
the new bill, which passed through committee Monday and is now awaiting a vote
in the House.